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Decision times · South East

How long planning decisions take in Bracknell Forest

66 days.

In the year to December 2026, the median planning application decided by Bracknell Forest took 66 days from submission to decision — 10 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 768 decisions where the council published both dates.

This council carries a figure but no rank

Not ranked yet: our records do not yet pass the historical coverage, monthly continuity, missing-date and refresh checks for this window. The figure above is still what the published dates say; it is left out of the league table so it cannot distort the ranking. See the methodology.

66 days
Median decision 10 days beyond the eight week target
40%
Within eight weeks 65% within thirteen
178 days
Nine in ten decided by The wait to budget for

How Bracknell Forest compares

Year to December 2026

Bracknell Forest takes longer than the country as a whole: 9 days above the national median of 57 days. Nationally 49% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 40%.

The average here is 94 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 178 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.

  1. Within eight weeks the statutory target 310 40%
  2. Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 192 25%
  3. Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 266 35%

By type of application

Year to December 2026 · types with at least ten decisions

The headline median mixes every kind of application together. A householder extension and an outline application for a housing site are not the same job, and the difference between them is usually larger than the difference between two councils.

  1. Amendments 49 decided 35 days
  2. Lawful development 65 decided 46 days
  3. Householder 151 decided 50 days
  4. Prior approval 25 decided 50 days
  5. Advertising 11 decided 65 days
  6. Conditions 98 decided 80 days
  7. Full applications 173 decided 82 days
  8. Outline 15 decided 92 days
  9. Heritage and listed buildings 13 decided 97 days
  10. Trees 145 decided 112 days

How these types compare nationally

What Bracknell Forest decides

Year to December 2026

Bracknell Forest issued 769 decisions in the year to December 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 90% were approvals: 588 granted against 68 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes sit outside that percentage rather than being counted as either.

Speed and approval rate are separate things. A council that refuses quickly is not doing the same job as one that negotiates an approval slowly, and neither figure alone says which served the applicant better.

Common questions

How long does a planning decision take in Bracknell Forest?

The median planning application decided by Bracknell Forest in the year to December 2026 took 66 days from submission to decision, 10 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 768 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date.

Does Bracknell Forest meet the eight week target?

40% of the 768 decisions Bracknell Forest made in the year to December 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 65% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 178 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.

Is Bracknell Forest faster or slower than average?

Bracknell Forest is slower than average: its median of 66 days is 9 days above the national median of 57 days.

What proportion of applications does Bracknell Forest approve?

90% of the clear-cut outcomes Bracknell Forest issued in the year to December 2026 were approvals: 588 granted against 68 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.

Cite these figures

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Bracknell Forest planning decision times, year to December 2026: median 66 days from application to decision (10 days beyond the eight week target), across 768 decisions with both dates published. 40% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 65% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 178 days. 90% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.

Or take the data itself: this council's history (CSV) or the full league table (CSV).

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